A Delhi court on Thursday granted bail to The Caravan magazine’s editor and a journalist in a defamation case filed by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval’s son Vivek Doval, PTI reported. The bail was granted on a personal bond of Rs 20,000 with surety of Rs 1 lakh, according to Bar and Bench.
The court of the additional metropolitan magistrate also granted Congress MP Jairam Ramesh exemption from personal appearance for the day and directed him to appear before the court on May 9. Ramesh’s bail plea will be heard on the day he appears before the court.
Vivek Doval had filed the criminal complaint after an article in the magazine claimed that he ran a hedge fund in the Cayman Islands, which is a tax haven. Editor-in-Chief of The Caravan, Paresh Nath, reporter Kaushal Shroff were named in the complaint filed at the Patiala House Court. Jairam Ramesh, who sought an investigation by the Reserve Bank of India into the hedge fund, was also named.
The court had summoned them on March 2 after concluding that their allegations against Doval were prima facie defamatory.
The Caravan report, titled “D-Companies” and published on January 16, had claimed that Vivek Doval ran the hedge fund even as his father advocated a crackdown on entities seeking shelter in such enclaves.
Trade documents accessed by the magazine showed that the fund was registered in the Cayman Islands just 13 days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government announced the demonetisation of high-denomination currency notes on November 8, 2016. Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 banknotes ceased to be legal tender after the announcement, which pulled 86% of India’s currency out of circulation.
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